Government Fights for Use of Spy Tool That Spoofs Cell Tower

"Rigmaiden maintains that in order for the stingray to be able to collect location data from his air card, Verizon Wireless had to write data to the air card consisting of identifying information for the FBIs emulated cell sites as well as make configuration changes that would cause the air card to recognize the FBIs emulated cell tower as an authorized tower for providing service and cause the air card to attempt connections to the emulated tower prior to attempting connections with actual Verizon Wireless towers.

The FBI technical agents needed Verizon Wireless to write data to the aircard in this manner because the aircards properly configured Preferred Roaming List prevented it from accessing rogue, unauthorized cell sites such as cell site emulators used by the FBI, Rigmaiden wrote in a court document."

Anyone else more encouraged to drop use of aircards much less cell phones yet? We can all be certain the other major 3 carriers do something similar.

I've come to the firm belief that if the NSA/CIA/*** openly sold bargain-basement-priced cell phones and air cards with "rich features" and carrying clear labeling that they were backdoored, permanently track-enabled, and fully-tapped, a mass of consumers nevertheless would step forward to snap them up. Some of whom, later, would complain (and sue) in Federal courts over being hacked, tracked, and tapped. There's just no accounting for human nature...--The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money. A. de Tocqueville

I've come to the firm belief that if the NSA/CIA/*** openly sold bargain-basement-priced cell phones and air cards...

Bob's "Tracker" el-cheapo phones and aircards. Get em in the "Chinese hackers" store

And BTW if anyone/anywhere really expects their cell phone/aircard to be private (i.e. not monitored by Bob) I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell cheap.--Don't feed trolls--it only makes them grow!